[Archive 2025-12-13] Iceland pulls out of Eurovision 2026, joining four other countries to do so

Historical archive — originally published 2025-12-13. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Wednesday, Iceland withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia. Each of the five countries backed out of the contest due to European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirming Israel's participation in the 2026 edition.

In the days prior, after four countries withdrew from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, Iceland’s broadcaster RÚV deferred its decision on participation until a board meeting on Wednesday. Following the meeting, RÚV announced it would not participate. According to the BBC, the broadcaster’s board had previously approved a recommendation to ask the EBU to ban Israel from the 2026 contest, and Iceland was among seven countries that sought a vote on Israel’s participation at the EBU’s general meeting, a request the union declined.

According to ABC News Australia and the BBC, EBU members last week approved changes to the contest’s voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster. ABC News Australia also reported that seven countries, including Iceland, requested a vote on Israel’s participation, but the EBU declined to hold one.

ABC News Australia noted that Iceland, which has never won the contest, has the highest per-capita Eurovision viewing audience of any participating country.

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